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The Rt Hon Sir John Redwood MP

John Redwood won a free place at Kent College, Canterbury, and graduated from Magdalen College Oxford. He is a Distinguished fellow of All Souls, Oxford. A businessman by background, he has set up an investment management business, was both executive and non executive chairman of a quoted industrial PLC, and chaired a manufacturing company with factories in Birmingham, Chicago, India and China. He is the MP for Wokingham, first elected in 1987.

John was an Oxfordshire County Councillor in the 1970s. In the mid-1980s he was Chief Policy Advisor to Margaret Thatcher. He urged her to begin a great privatisation programme, and then took privatisation around the world as one of its first advocates before being elected to Parliament for Wokingham. He was soon made a minister, joining the front bench in 1989 as Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Department of Trade and Industry. He supervised the liberalisation of the telecoms industry in the early 1990s and became Minister for Local Government and Inner Cities after the 1992 General Election.

Shortly afterwards, John joined the Cabinet and served as Secretary of State for Wales from 1993 to 1995. In opposition he acted as Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1997-1999), Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1999-2000) and Shadow Secretary of State for Deregulation (2004-2005). In the 1990s he campaigned widely to keep the pound, and wrote several books and articles explaining why the Euro would be wrong for the UK. (Our Currency, our country; Just Say No).

John subsequently served as Chairman of the Economic Policy Review (2005-2010) undertaken by the Opposition. A copy of the report is available here. He has been Chairman of the Conservative Economic Affairs Committee since 2010. John stood for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 1995 and again in 1997. He was knighted in 2019.

John was a fellow of All Souls from 1972 to 1987 , again from 2003 to 2005, and since 2007. He is currently a Visiting Professor for Middlesex University Business School and has published a number of books including ‘Superpower Struggles‘, on the European Union, China and the United States, ‘Just Say No‘ on why the UK should reject further European integration, and ‘Singing the Blues‘, his personal history of the Conservative Party throughout the last thirty years. His most recent publications are “We don’t believe you’, an account of populist politics, ‘I Want to Make a Difference, But I Don’t Like Politics‘, which examines the reason for the decline in membership of political parties and those voting in local and General Elections, and After the Credit Crunch: No More Boom and Bust, which considers the reasons behind the global recession and why Britain has been hit especially hard. His\ most recent book, “We don’t believe you” is a study of the various populist parties and movements in the USA, UK and on the continent of Europe.

John is a frequent commentator in the media and is a keen cricketer and water sports enthusiast, and supports a number of different charities. He is an Ambassador for the Variety Club of Great Britain.

92 Comments

Heard you on the radio this am. Thank you for voicing what so many feel. What influence can one voice have in such a medley of disparate interests? I remember when we stood alone in 1939, and thank goodness we did!

I was reminded of “Dare to be a Daniel! Dare to stand alone! I think it was a temperance hymn which went on “Dare to stand outside a pub and take your wages home!” Perhaps not totally inappropriate. It would be good for the UK not to have to fund the European machinery.
Kind regards

Dear John Redwood
Oh dear! I see you chose to publish the above email with its inappropriate reference to 1939 when we stood up to Nazi Germany when Germany was controlled by a brutal dictator. As you said yourself Germany is now a modern democracy and we stand shoulder to shoulder to preserve the values of western Europe and our shared economies. References to 1939 are appropriate only to the speeches of popular demagogues and those who breed hatred.
Heather Pfeiffer

Reply: I refer to Germany and German as a modern democracy. I try not to censor too much on this site when others have differing v iews.

How is Shiela’s letter inappropriate? Like err, it never happened. It is more appropriate today than ever. It is good to remind people that Edward Heath decietfully handed Europe to the Germans totally ignoring the fact that thanks to the Germans, 15 MILLION people died in two World Wars! 15 MILLION dead who must now be crying ‘Why did we Die, What was it all for, Was it all for nothing?’ Apart from those dear departed, there was millions who were horribly injured and maimed. Yes Heather it is very very appropriate. What is more, because of the Germans, Britain became almost bankrupt to keep Europe free from Germany. It took us over 60 Years to clear our debts. I lived through it and it’s aftermath so don’t tell me it is not appropriate.

The two world wars were fought because of nationalist ambitions. Churchill favoured making Europe inter dependant so European rivalry could not start another war, hence the European Union. Brexit is turning the clock back by encouraging nationalism and its attendant dangers. Those who died and suffered would have preferred to have not needed to fight the war in the first place.

Rubbish Brian … you need to check your facts more carefully. Churchill never believed in a Europe run in the way that it is and controlling Britain in the way it is. It’s time to leave , while there is still a chance before the whole failed EU project comes crashing down. Have a backbone man, just like those British people did in 1939 ….

Recent papers regarding Churchill were released by Her Majesty from Windsor Castle archive. They prove that Churchill was in favour of a federated Europe led by Germany and France. However he was clear in stating that Britain should have no part in it. He went on to state that Britain should form an alliance instead with the US and the Commonwealth countries. The BBC and others often misquote Churchill on this. Thank God we had Churchill in 1939. The whole of parliament wanted to surrender to the Germans as indeed we see today with our modern parliament simply willing to refuse democracy and hand Britain over to the Germans and French. The only man standing up for Britain and supporting the outcome of the referendum is Sir John Redwood- our modern day Churchill.

Sort of correct: Has Germany changed? Perhaps. Merkle’s unilateral policy decision on immigrant/refugees is certainly a harbinger of forced change in Germany today. Just go ask Italy, Greece, Austria, Poland, Spain, England, Romania, etc.
Many parties are protesting the unilateral dictatorship of Europe’s self-appointed frontmen/women. (Revisit the obscenity of Tony Blair). Is this Nationalism? Did all Germans listen to the BBC? SKY? Corporate disinformation? Very strange conclusion.
Expect a demise of ‘expected diplomacy’ (perhaps see Trump) or (see Labour) types of governments to be assigned to the dustbin of history.
People should always will turn to self-interest. Survive this ‘swamp’.
Which is proper and, immediately productive for their family and community (i.e.: I cannot possibly be asked to look after ‘all others’ if it is impossible to look-out after myself or those I count on as mine, hence pension funds, NHS, fighting to survive those fantasy boys).
Have any of those in Government ever invented, done or given you anything constructive? (there are no exceptions).
E.G. who gave us electricity, automobiles, airplanes, computers, telephone… etc, etc. Governments? No. Banks? No. Bureaucracy? No. Just individuals with idea’s and vision.
No, from Government all you are likely to get is ‘someone’ else’s dreams of how to steal from this independent thought and how those entrepreneurial people should behave, and pass all sorts of laws to inhibit and conform to those fantasies. Which is the ultimate intelligence and enterprise destruction. Don’t be complicit.
Retain your independence of mind and body.

Is it really relevant to base your decisions on events that occurred in 1918 and 1945? This is demented nationalism at its worse! Deal with the present facts only! We also know that Wellington won at Waterloo and Nelson won at Trafalgar! Well done Henry V too, but it’s really irrelevant to the Brexit debate!!! All of the news from reputable British sources state emphatically that Brexit will be an unmitigated disaster for the UK, but these Oxbridge educated idiots insist on it! Why, do they want to use Brexiteers as acloak to steal billions from the British public? Please be rational and desist from speaking about spitfires, Chelsea pensioners and the Battle of Hastings as they are all irrelevant to the debate on Brexiteers!

Durihg a long working life, I was careful to create a pension that would serve me in addition to the state pension once I had retired.
Due to the latest revisions in G.A.D. etc., upon the standard 5-year review, the amount I get monthly has been reduced by some 40%. !!
This is my money – I still pay tax on it – and yet the Pensions Minister (Steve Webb) decided – against the will of the whole pensions industry to reduce this by a crippling amount. This is entirely unfair, mostly to Conservative voters i.e.those who bother to save!!!
This must be something that your core voters need our M.P. to take up the cudgels for.

reply: Are you saying your pension in payment has been cut by 40% gross? If so, which scheme and why?

If this is NOT what you said then please forward the correct words to MyStory@EnglishPassport.org and the original article will be amended.

Many thanks

English Passport
Reply: The place to take my view from is this website, which contains exactly what I wrote. Anyone can see my view has been doctored, and I have written a formal letter requiring that it be corrected with an apology.

Can you please explain why the Conservatives think we will all rush out and build conservatories when people are struggling with lack of jobs and income coming in ? I know this is over simplyfing it but personally I feel somewhat let down by this government – they just do not seem to “get it” – people will not spend if they feel they wont have a job next week – it is not simplified planning that is required or big new shopping centres. They seem not to have run out of ideas but not to have had any in the first place – very disappointing.

It would be interesting to have your views on the news that HMRC is to write off £950m in ‘uncollectable’ PAYE. It has seemed to me for some time that government is incapable of handling public projects wisely or cost-effectively. For example: Home Office, unfit for purpose; border agency, unfit for purpose; rail infrastructure costs – grossly underestimated; defence procurement – massively over budget (Eurofighter etc) yet front line forces ill-equipped; IT projects – many abandoned after hundreds of millions spent; fire-stations: new build to consolidate services – now unrentable white elephants. Now the NHS, for which Mr Cameron has (ill-advisedly, in my view) ring-fenced expenditure, is seen to be sub-standard in many critical areas.

Why is no one accountable for mis-application of funds, or prosecuted where injury or death results from incompetence? In the private sector, as you are well aware, such defalcation would be heavpunished.

Why is there no mention on this page of the royal SPANKING you got from the other John… you know…. John Major, seriously his political carreer was almost dead, the country would pick anyone but him… yet still your party would rather have him than you… LOL

To my mind, it is an indictment of the Conservative Party members and leadership that you have not been given more power and influence. Since having discovered your website many months ago now, I have been an assiduous reader…

Sir, I’ve just watched you’re recent speech outlining your concerns about the ever increasing influence of the EU in our lives. I welcome the measured , succinct and irrefutable arguments you put forward. What an asset you would be to us UKIP supporters who have left our traditional parties for precisely the reasons you so eloquently outline. Please consider joining us before your worst fears are realised.

Since more than 80% of UK law is made in Brussels why does parliament still employ 650 wasteful troughers at vast expense? They have no more power than the average parish council.

Reply The last Parliament declined to cut the number of MPs when we proposed it. This Parliament has the task of restoring powers to Parliament to make the jobs more worthwhile. Parliament still has a lot more power than the average parish council!

Dear Mr Redwood,
I heard you for the first time on Radio 4’s ‘Any Questions’ on Saturday and it was thoroughly absorbing listening to your erudite and thoughtful comments on our reasons for leaving the EU and I very much hope you play a pivotal role and your voice is heard through the coming months on why it is time for the United Kingdom need to leave the European Union.
Very best regards,
Sophie Martin.

Hi John
Just reading through your site for the first time having previously had the pleasure of listening to you at first hand.
Although the first item above is friendly, it is dated 2011. The latest at the top would produce a more modern appearance.

Please correct me if I’m wrong, but under The Education Act 1996, Article 406, “Political Indoctrination” is unlawful in schools.

My point here is the suggestion by the prime minister who urges youngsters to tell their parents and grandparents to back EU membership. This is wrong and he should not say such things. Whatever the case, our youngsters must not be ‘indoctrinated’.

Mr Cameron further stated “think about your children, about your grandchildren, think about the country and the world you want them to grow up in”. I personally find his remarks offensive as I don’t need the prime minister suggesting how I should vote.

While the prime minister is entitled to hold and express his PERSONAL views on the EU, he should not at the same time be directly, or indirectly, aiming remarks at children who don’t have a vote in the first place.

Personally, I want my children and grandchildren to grow up in a self governing island nation, as it once was, that is free to make its own laws and to trade with whomever we wish on a GLOBAL basis, and where the UK parliament and our court structures are supreme, and the unelected EU and its courts are not.

I do NOT want them growing up in a federalist union where the UK is simply a zone of an unaccountable, undemocratic political union with continental Europe, which has been forced upon UK citizens over decades at ever increasing costs, and without any mandate whatsoever.

For these and MANY more reasons, WE MUST BREXIT to take back control of our own country. We have the right as free citizens to point OUR country in the direction WE want, in our national interest as a free nation. NO UK prime minister has the right to give away our national heritage or sovereignty, yet Mr Cameron and those before him seek to do exactly that.

Some may call this ‘inward looking’, but the reverse is true. The EU is ‘protectionist’, but the majority UK opinion is to reach out on a global basis, and re-establish our strong links with The Commonwealth (hardly inward looking). We cannot achieve our preferred desire of self governance, and so on, whilst the UK stays shackled in political union with continental Europe.

There are many things we’re not part of, like the Euro and Schengen, to name but two examples, and we never will be. But there are many more things the UK is part of, and these don’t require EU membership.

Make no mistake, the ONLY direction of travel so far as the EU elite are concerned, is to achieve a federalist community called EUROPE, and I believe they wont stop THEIR agenda to reach their goal.

Mr Cameron is on record as saying he will NEVER allow the UK to slide into a federal Europe, yet that is exactly what he and others seek to keep us attached to – AT HUGE COST TO THE UK. At present the UK is the second highest net contributor to the EU. Is it not time we had our money back to do our own thing? We don’t need another very expensive tier of unaccountable bureaucracy to be successful. EU ‘red tape’ costs UK business £billions every year, yet around 95% of UK business does not export to the EU.

The ONLY way to put the brakes on is by voting BREXIT.

We MUST, if we are to take Mr Cameron seriously, remember what he set out to achieve. If we are now to believe he achieved substantial “renegotiation” that everyone knows he never achieved, then he is, with respect, deceiving the British people into thinking otherwise, and deluding himself.

One may then query, rightly in my opinion, as to WHY Mr Cameron and others are attempting to surrender our country ‘down the river’ without a shot being fired, with ‘surrender’ being the operative word.

Indeed, why would the prime minister of ANY country seek to sell out their own citizens.

Reply I moderate this site and find these very long contributions are very time consuming. If you wish to remove a past post then let me know and I will delete it up I can locate it. You can always post a replacement

Thank you John. I appreciate and understand your response. Would you please delete my post dated March 29, 2016 at 7:19pm (and this reply). Keep up the great push for brexit. It is much appreciated. Thank you

Whatever concessions your friend Mr. Cameron claims to have secured from the EU, what guarantee is there that they will not be reversed within time? And if we stayed and the concessions were reverse, how long before there’s another vote to leave?

As much as I like European nations and cultures, I totally reject the EU dictatorship and its corrupt culture. It’s time to get out.

Dear John
Thank you for the speech you made in parliament yesterday, a great many no doubt agree with you about the lack of patriotism of the leaders of government….not something I ever expected to say about DC and GO.

The desperation of those in the remain campaign seems to be increasing. I only hope that it results in an enormous ‘backlash’ from the electorate. Here’s hoping that everybody that can, makes an effort to vote in the referendem. If Denmark can achieve a 74% turnout, so should we!

Chancellor John Redwood ?
Gonna need a lot of clear thinking and steady neves to negotiate trade deals and formulate some new rules now, or we could get ourselves in a worse position.
Come on John… you’re the man for this.

A sound political agenda should deliver a sound economy followed by a ‘fair’ social agenda. Without the former the Government is not in a position to do anything on a ‘foundation’ of rock, without the latter it makes it difficult for it to deliver the former to deliver the latter.

No one should underestimate the complexities and challenges of running the country. Aims and objectives are everything.

Whether of the right or of the left the motivators for most voters are those of self interest rather than overall good from which we individually benefit. Here then is the nub. To motivate and reward on the basis of self interest (including reward for hard work and effort) whilst maintaining an equitably fair society.

As a lifelong Conservative voter (apart from the last election when I voted Liberal as a reward for its contribution towards the coalition which in effect, at least to my mind, helped rescued the economy) I would be interested to understand where Mr Redwood stands on the issue of personal borrowing and debt. It being one thing to borrow to achieve a beneficial aim (buying a house, building a business) as opposed to ‘jam tomorrow’ as my father would say. I ask this because as far as I can see a country that runs on tick is one that is setting itself up to fail (again accepting the fundamental principles of some borrowing).

To my mind money is lent to those with little in the form of credit. They pay heavily for the privelage and use the money to purchase goods and services, those benefiting from the sale of which then lend money in the form of credit, all the while backing each way through hedge funds, that is saying one thing whilst praying for the opposite.

I keep wanting to send your diary posts to colleagues. Have you an aversion to Twitter? It would be good to be able to click on a Twitter button on each post, which in my case would bring it to the attention of 1964 readers, many of them academics.

Dear John, what are you (and the country..) going to do when financials and other services exporters lose patience on all of this mess hardcore Brexiteers are doing to scupper plans to retain passporting/single market access…it’s going to be comical to start to see jobs move when employers have had enough waiting on this Tory parlour game (and I am a Tory voter myself, heaven forbid)…oh and by the way to your post “I see no recession” there’s something called PMI you might want to acquaint yourself with.

reply I have written on passports and PMIs If you wish to make a sensible contribution here, start by reading what I write so you do not make yourself look ridiculous.

I didn´t vote either way. But now the result has come out Brexit, I can´t help but notice that those who advocated for Britain´s departure are now notably silent on the matter. IS THIS A CASE OF COLD FEET?

I am extremely concerned Nicola Sturgeon and others are attempting to prevent Brexit despite the Leave result. I also note (named US Investment bank ed) Co is suggesting Brexit may be reversed. I consider such interference as rather unhelpful to what was a clear 4% win on a high turnout for the much debated Brexit.

May I through your pages suggest to those having an alternative opinion to Brexit to check out the US 2012 elections. They will find Obama won the popular vote by a clear 4% on a low turnout. No-one suggested the US should re run their election, nor did world leaders interfere with it.

A clear UK 4% win is no different to a clear US 4% win.

The House of Commons has a pro-EU majority (unless all members now accept the will of the people must be observed). The only way forward as I presently view things is for government to use The Royal Prerogative. and I wish they would get on with activating Article 50 so everyone knows what is happening to provide absolute certainty.

Thank you for keeping up the pressure to Leave, and I would like to see Theresa May PM giving the country regular updates on Brexit progress, say bi-weekly.

This is Ted he is a 96 year old WW2 veteran. He came in to my pub today for his lunch. I couldn’t help but notice his medals I just had to go and ask him about his life and say thanks you for his service to our country. He became really overwhelmed and cried. He said “thank you young man no one cares about what I have to say anymore.”
I told him that am sure there is so many people that do. Can we all please like and share this post and show him just how many of do care about our veterans and prove to Ted he’s not forgotten. I will show him this post when he comes back for his dinner next week.

Sooner or later there will be pressure to create a slave race of moronic sub-humans to do all the boring and dirty jobs using Chimera technology – like the two men who scrape the dried excrement and toilet paper off the black rubber tarps on the railway tracks at Paddington Station at 03:00 a.m.on hot summer nights. The smell: utterly indescribable and I can´t believe anyone needs the money that badly. You throw up from 50 ft away after 30 secs of inhalation. As they loosen it with their rakes, an awful stench permeates the entire station. I regularly got the 03:30 a.m. train to Oxford and, clucking bell, I am not kidding!

John Redwood, what can you bring to the table to expedite matters? Extract below from Reuters shows Remainer May is dragging her heels as I see it!

Britain’s exit from the European Union could be delayed until at least late 2019 because the government was too “chaotic” to start the two-year process early next year, the Sunday Times reported, citing sources it said were briefed by ministers.

Britain voted to leave the EU on June 23, but views differ over when it should invoke “Article 50”, which sets the clock ticking on a two-year deadline to leave the bloc, with some senior politicians calling for a quick departure.

Prime Minister Theresa May, who campaigned for Britain to remain in the EU and leads a cabinet of ministers from either side of the debate, has said she will not trigger Brexit talks this year as Britain needs time to prepare.

But British government ministers have warned senior figures in the City of London, London’s financial district, that Article 50 was unlikely to be triggered early in 2017 because the situation in government was “chaotic”, the Sunday Times reported on Sunday.

“Ministers are now thinking the [Article 50] trigger could be delayed until autumn 2017,” one source, who had spoken to two senior ministers, told the newspaper.

“They don’t have the infrastructure for the people they need to hire. They say they don’t even know the right questions to ask when they finally begin bargaining with Europe.”

Asked about the reported delay to triggering Article 50, a Number 10 spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister has been clear that a top priority for this government is to deliver the decision of the British people to leave the EU and make a success of Brexit.”

“The PM has set out the government’s position on Article 50 and has established a new department dedicated to taking forward the negotiations,” she said.

European leaders have taken a firm line on the speed of Britain’s exit, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying that while it was understandable that Britain would need a few months to figure out its strategy, “nobody wants a long period of limbo”.

But behind the scenes, there has been a growing realisation in Europe’s capitals that the two-year window for negotiating Brexit is far too short.

Britain created two new government departments to handle Brexit and international trade, led by David Davis and Liam Fox, two prominent “Leave” campaigners in the referendum.

Davis has recruited less than half of the 250 staff he needs for the Brexit department, the Sunday Times said, while Fox has fewer than 100 of the 1,000 trade negotiators he is seeking.

John, we need yuor help on Brexit and soon. I think needs to get you ´off the bench´ and into the scrum. As I have understood it the first steps below need a pro-Brexiteer and a senior one at that. That, John, is very obviously YOU!

Triggering Article 50, formally notifying the intension to withdraw starts a two-year clock ticking. After that, the Treaties that govern membership no longer apply to Britain.
The terms of exit will be negotiated between Britain’s 27 counterparts, and each will have a veto over the conditions.

Two vast negotiating teams will be created far larger than those seen in the British renegotiation. The EU side is likely to be headed by one of the current Commissioners.

The renegotiation process will be lengthy and difficult, because each state will have its own political imperatives. Given this has never happened before the future is a very uncertain one.

I, and several of my friends – all of whom are small and medium sized business operators, seek some clarity from those with a clear view of the future and who are not afraid to opine. John, let´s hear your thoughts!

I am holding the ñine as it were with some of my Doubting Thomas friends, colleagues and associates. A few are making for the door whilst I have been deliberately unnervinf them with scare stories about the folly of going ex-Pat. Examples here.

How will it affect expats living in the EU?

While the result will have major bearing on the future of Europe and on the futures of Britain’s political parties, it will also have a major impact on the lives of many Brits living throughout the EU.

The fall in the value of the pound will have severely hit the value of pensions often the only form of income for British expats and may make it unaffordable for many to stay abroad.

Nobody can really be certain what will happen next at this early stage but the most immediate impact will be volatility in the markets which will affect exchange rates and therefore the value of spending in other countries.

John, any thoghts you could add to keep people chained to their oars would go a long way.

John, can one infer from the above . readig between the lines . that May has accepted Britain´s loneliness in the world?

I recall that at university, friendships were formed over the first six weeks and anyone without a circle by then was like an African boy who had missed the initiation ceremony through illness or travel. Is Britain alone in the world?

Eight years ago, a 65 year old with a £100,000 pot could have bought an income of £7,855.

Just six months ago in January, a 60 year old could get a better deal than a 65 year old can today: then, a £100,000 could have bought an income of £4,930. That means they would have received five extra years of income compared to what a 65 year old would get today.

Britain created the circumstances that caused investors to take a short position on the pound sterling. Investors have the skill of a shark when they smell blood in the water. Leavers understand none of this. Just as Soros made a billion when he took a short position on the pound, so will others. The pound is expected to fall to about $1.20 against the USD. That is an immediate problem for people who have saved money, since their money has lost one eighth of its value. It makes your goods cheaper and your businesses cheaper to buy for others. That will end with tariffs once Article 50 is invoked. Leavers will cheer as the ship of state slowly sinks into the sea. They will have their “freedom” at last.

Reply Mr Soros was of course betting against a mad EU project called the ERM which gave him a successful pone way bet.

The pound is the worst performing major currency this year, and this is just the start, just wait until we loose unfettered access to the world’s largest trading block. A weak currency is a very good indication of economic strength and long term prospects.

The pound is the worst performing major currency this year, and this is just the start, just wait until we lose hitherto unfettered access to the world’s largest trading block. A weak currency is a very good indication of economic strength and long term prospects.

The case emerges as the cost of care homes continues to rise steeply, and as criticism grows of the Government’s plans to reform care funding. Legislation to introduce a “lifetime care fees cap”, which would limit care costs paid by any individual to £72,000, is going through Parliament now. It is supposed to become effective next year. The cap excludes accommodation and other costs, and so could still see people paying well over the proposed £72,000 limit.

Call for UK coal mine closures to be reveresed. Send all those lazy scroungers down pit!

“Coal markets, after five years of declining prices, appear to have found a bottom in the first quarter,” Australia’s Whitehaven Coal said on Thursday, as its shares hit a three-year high on the release of its annual results.

“Reasons for the increase in prices include mine closures in Indonesia, United States and Australia and policy change by Chinese authorities,” Whitehaven said, adding it was confident that coal prices will rise.

Why, oh why do the Remainers keep spoiling our Brexit Fun.
Only five minutes ago an article on commercial property doom poppd up on Reuters.
Free speech is one thing, but saying things that could damage Britain is just plain wrong.

I notice that Teresa May didn´t get an invite to the September EU Summit and we are now hearing that UK doesn´t have a voice, no-one care what we say and we had better get used to it. Any thoughts John? When I was at school the world map had Britain in the centre, where it rightly belonged.

Britain, unfortunately, will have little or no say over what happens next. Theresa May is not invited to Bratislava. The summit will take place without her. The government is not being asked for it views on the crucial issues confronting Europe and, if it chooses to air them, it is increasingly likely, as time goes by, that it will be ignored. The EU wants only one thing from Britain right now, as Donald Tusk, the European council president, reminded May last week: a firm date for starting exit negotiations. And this, unfortunately again, May is unwilling or unable to give them.

In any divorce settlement parties are required to declare both their assets and any future liabilities. The EU during our 44 years membership has used British partial funding to construct an enormous number of EU administrative buildings in Brussels, Strasbourg and in all 27 remaining States. Presumably the EU will wish to continue using these properties after Brexit, so should be offered the opportunity to buy out the British share. Can one assume that the British Government is currently seeking a fair valuation of all these buildings so that we can offset the money due to us against any liabilities we have incurred?

Whilst setting out the poor prediction record of the so-called pundits, I am surprised that you did not at the same time remark on the strange phenomenon of the weakening of the value of sterling following the outcome of a General Election. This weakness in the exchange rate strangely accompanies a prevailing view that a “Soft Brexit” is now more likely.

Post Brexit, we really need to look at rebalancing this country in favour of entrepreneurialism and a societal norm of self reliance – references to Norman Tebbitt’s statement to “get on your bike” to find work resonate.

First, fully privatise the NHS – U.K. citizens to have private health insurance. Why should I subsidise those in society who take poor lifestyle choices (or suffer from poor genetics)?

Next, state pension to be recognised for what it is – a benefit, not a right – and means tested.

Third, removal of all “Protected Designation of Origin” labels from goods. They block free trade If I want a Melton Mowbray pork pie from Zagreb, I should be able to buy one.

Please be good enough to send your daily diary email of today (“Deals Galore in place of Withdrawal Agreement”) to my MP, Andrea Leadsom, as it is clear from her train crash interview with Nick Robinson this morning that she knows nothing about what is going on with the “managed no deal”, as it was referred to.

i heard your interview this morning. it’s good to know that there will be no hard boarder in ireland. there are a lot of smugglers which will appreciate that and much more refugees as well. thanks for opening uk for much more immigration. it‘s good for the rest of europe i guess.

Its seems there is a wall of silence on the court case that proves we have already left the EU. If nobody reading this has heard about it, its because the media have been told to block all information regarding it. I would encourage you all to look up Robin Tilbrook’s court case, he is a solicitor of some repute as well as leader of the English Democrats. John Redwood knows about this case as do all MP’s in Parliament, but because they have broken the law are trying their best to avoid mentioning this and doing everything they can to hide it fro the public domain. Robin Tilbrook has some of the most powerful barristers in the land working with him and yet you can see the tumble weed blowing through Parliament and press offices. This is massive and much bigger than the Gina MIller case (that ironically opened the door to this case). Google Robin Tilbrook’s court case, ignore any contracted voices that write that this case isn’t going to happen, it 100% is going to happen and many QC’s and barristers admit that the points within case are almost 100% sure to be proven correct and that the government acted illegally in extending the period of negotiations after we had already left the EU, on the 29th March 2019.

Reply What a silly post.I raised the issue of the case. i am not trying to ignore it but would appreciate an up date from those involved in it if possible. I want us out and opposed the delay in Parliament.why not tell us how good the case is instead of shouting false allegations.

Dear Mr Redwood, I tremendously enjoy receiving the “Diary of John Redwood” emails, but the one I received today (3 August 2019) really did not appeal to me. A lot of the sentiments expressed in it, such as people taking responsibility for properly disposing of their waste, are, of course, no-brainers. However, please read this article which points out some things showing that the current “recycling” madness is totally contrary to conservative principles.

Sir John,
I have seen that network rail are cutting down hundreds of trees on the banks of the Reading to Waterloo railway line that runs through Wokingham district. As trees are an essential resource in our attempts to combat climate change can you ask network rail how when & where they plan to plant trees to replace the ones felled.

When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove people from that service? Thank you!

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About John Redwood

John Redwood won a free place at Kent College, Canterbury, and graduated from Magdalen College Oxford. He is a Distinguished fellow of All Souls, Oxford. A businessman by background, he has set up an investment management business, was both executive and non executive chairman of a quoted industrial PLC, and chaired a manufacturing company with factories in Birmingham, Chicago, India and China. He is the MP for Wokingham, first elected in 1987.